Defense Stakes Fair Lawn Travel Softball Team to Title

The Fair Lawn U12 Girls Softball Travel Team finished its season on top Friday, beating Hawthorne 4-2 in the championship game and walking away as the Bergen County Girls Softball U12 White Division Champions. 

The team, coached by Donna and Jake Taylor, completed its regular season with an overall record of 9 – 2 – 1, good for 2^nd place and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. After sailing past Hillsdale in the first round and Westwood in the semis, Fair Lawn faced Hawthorne in a tight championship game that took place over two nights due to rain.

Strong pitching by Emily Meerholz, and hits by Raina Alexander, Caitlin Carney and Kira Meerholz staked Fair Lawn to an early 2-0 lead heading into the championship game's fourth inning.  

In the top of the fourth, Hawthorne staged a come back and tied the game 2 – 2, just before a storm passed through and forced the postponement of the game until the next day. 

Fair Lawn regrouped on Saturday with Courtney Kopf taking the mound and keeping Hawthorne at bay. In the bottom of the fifth, after a leadoff walk by Amanda Hoffman, Fair Lawn's aggressive baserunning put Hawthorne's defense to the test. 

With Hoffman on first, Amanda Taylor grounded out to Hawthorne's third baseman, advancing Hoffman to second.

But Hoffman didn't stop motoring once she reached second base. Coach Donna Taylor called Hoffman to third on the play, testing Hawthorne's defensive mettle and forcing an errant throw from Hawthorne's first baseman that eluded the third baseman and allowed Hoffman to score the go-ahead run. 

Later in the inning, with bases loaded, Allison Dypko took one for the team to bring home an insurance run, making the score 4-2 and giving Kopf all she would need the rest of the way.

In the top of the seventh, Hawthorne threatened a comeback after Kopf walked several batters, but the team's defense picked her up. First baseman Danielle Mazzola made a couple nice stretches at first to record two key putouts, and, with two outs and the bases loaded, centerfielder Sara Higgins caught a deep fly ball to shut the door on Hawthorne and seal the championship.

“Many of these girls have been together for three years on travel and they have really come together as a team," Coach Donna Taylor said afterward. "But what was most impressive was, over the course of the season, how each and every girl realized their potential and pushed themselves to be better players."

Taylor said it was the team's strong defense that emerged over the last few weeks of the season that got them to the championship. She credited experienced assistant coaches Brian and Keith Meerholz with the team's defensive excellence.

In addition to its league championship run, the team also competed in the Tenafly Safe at Home tournament and a regional tournament in Lancaster, Pa earlier in the year. The girls took second in the Tenafly tournament, but didn't fare as well as expected in Lancaster. Rather than despair over their performance in Pennsylvania, the coaches chalked it up as a learning experience that they believe helped them later in the year.

“I am confident that the Pennsylvania tournament really helped our girls and springboarded our Championship run,” Coach Jeff Mazzola said.

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